Fly Tying Recipes & Patterns

Learn to tie the Woodruff Dry Fly, a pattern with roots in the Catskill Mountains of New York

J. Stockard Pro Tyer: Paul Shurtleff, Springville UT, You can find Paul @: www.instagram.com/insectinside/, www.facebook.com/pauliescustomflies When J. Stockard approached me about creating a fly for the cover of their 2023 Catalog, I was both excited and a bit nervous. It's one thing to post one of my creations to Instagram, it's another to think about a picture of my fly sitting on thousands of tying benches across the country. After considering a few options, I settled on the “trude”, a style of fly patterns with hair wings. First introduced in 1901, the pattern is 121 years old and has many variants.  The Royal Trude fly (the one I submitted for the cover) is in fact a hair wing version of the Royal Coachman. It is an effective fly and I personally use this pattern for high mountain trout. This particular pattern shines on small streams and it punishes the native cutthroat trout in my area waters! There’s just something about the peacock and red band that trout love and the white wing makes it super easy to see too! You can read more about the history of the trude here and see the recipe and instructions for my version below. Recipe:Hook: Partridge G3A-LY (or any standard dry fly hook)Thread: Semperfli 18/0 Nano Silk (black)Tail: Golden pheasant tippet fibersBody: PeacockBody band: Floss (red)Rib: small wire (silver) - use extra small or brassie if smaller flyWing: Calf body hair or you can substitute Calf Tail.Hackle: Whiting coachman brown saddle or capeCoating: Loon water based head cement Fly Tying Instructions: Start by putting the hook in the vise and start the thread at approximately 1/4 of the hook shank behind the hook eye. Select a few golden pheasant fibers for the tail. Measure the length to be the hook length. Trim to length and tie in. Bring the thread to the beginning of the hook bend keeping the fibers on top of the hook.  Select 2 or 3 strands of peacock for the rear body bump. Align the butts of the peacock strands, trim off the very tips and tie them in by the evened out tips. Spin the peacock around the thread to form a peacock rope. Wrap a few turns of the peacock rope to form the rear bump and tie off and remove the excess but save the remaining strands for the forward bump.  Bring the thread the same distance as the rear peacock bump up from the rear bump to give an even section for the red band. Tie in the wire (optional) and the red floss for the band. Wrap the floss up to the start of the second peacock bump, then wrap it back, and then forward again creating a 3 layered band of red floss for the center bump. Wrap the wire over the floss in even spaced turns (2 to 3 max) and tie it off.  Tie in the same 2 to 3 strands of peacock used for the rear bump, spin it around the thread again to form a peacock rope. Wrap 2 to 4 turns for the forward peacock bump, tie off and remove the excess.  Select a small clump of calf body hair for the wing. After cleaning out the clump of hair, use a hair stacker to even the hair tips. Measure the wing to be the hook shank in length. Trim off the butts and tie in the calf body hair wing at the end of the forward peacock bump. Tie in the remaining wing butts and make a clean thread ramp for the hackle.  Select a hackle and tie it in on top of the hair wing ensuring that the “shiny side” faces forward. Bring the thread to just behind the hook eye.  Wrap the hackle in close touching turns, preening the fibers back after every turn to slightly compress the hackle turns and not trap any hackle fibers. Wrap the hackle to the hook eye, tie off the hackle, pull the remaining hackle back and whip finish behind the hook eye and in front of the hackle. Remove the thread and hackle and treat the thread head with head cement. 

by Matt O'Neal of Savage Flies: Find him on his YouTube channel at Savage Flies  Merry Christmas! This special Fly of the Month is tied by our good friend Matt O'Neal of Savage Flies. Most of the information about this fly was sourced by Matt from John Shewey's "Classic Steelhead Flies" published in 2015. Jules Francois "Frank" Bekeart came to CA in 1849 in the first wave of the gold rush but quickly decided gold mining wasn't his thing. He started a gunsmith and gun sales business in the 1850s. His business prospered in San Francisco, and he ultimately turned it over to his youngest son Phil in 1890. (Philip Baldwin Bekeart, 1861-1936) Phil was a competitive shooter, gaining fame among handgun aficionados for his design of target weapons. He was a highly-respected marksman, and west coast representative of the more well-known Eastern firearms manufacturers. He was also a dedicated fly angler. He hung out with some of the more notable anglers of the day, including Will and Henry Golcher of Golcher Brothers Sporting Goods. All were members of the San Francisco Fly Casting Club. Here's where the background gets a little hazy. All of these men would have known John S. Benn, one of the most notable fly tiers of the day. Some say Benn created this pattern and named it after his friend Phil Bekeart, but the English author A. Courtney Williams credits the fly to Bekeart in his 1932 book "Trout Flies." Without more research we may never know for sure who created this pattern. I've still got a handful of old books to look through to see if it's mentioned anywhere. But either way, it's a nice looking fly. Recipe: Hook: #4-10 Salmon HookThread: BlackTail: Red hackle fibersTag: Oval gold tinselButt: Peacock herlRib: Gold Mylar tinselBody: Red flossThorax: Peacock herlCollar hackle: Red saddle hackleWing: Mottled turkeyCheek: Jungle cock (optional)Head: Black ostrich herl

This Sulphur nymph variation is a trout pleaser. With a tungsten bead, it gets down in the zone quickly and goes right to work. The flashback not only helps to draw attention, but also helps minic the splitting thorax during emergence. If Sulphur Mayflies are in your watershed, this is a great one to tie on as part of your nymph rig.

by Nathan Wight, Durham ME, J. Stockard Pro Tyer Again this year we called on the talents of the J. Stockard Pro Tyer Team to create an eye-catching image for our catalog cover. Check out Nate Wight’s turn on the traditional Copper John. Nate, who owns North Woods Fly Co., is a 4th generation Maine guide and a tyer with 30+ years’ experience. History of the Copper John In 1993 John Barr began to develop a nymph that we know today as the Copper John. Although the Copper John does not imitate any given species of insect, it has proven itself to be a fish catching fly here in the United States and around the world. There have been many variations of the fly over time, but all are based on the same copper wire body. A couple of years ago I started tying this double wire jig hook variation. One of the many advantages to this style is that you can change up wire colors. For example, use small black wire with brassy copper wire to achieve a slightly darker fly without losing all the original copper flair. Copper John Recipe / Materials List Hook: Wide Gap hook in Size 14. You can adjust the size of the hook and bead to suit your own preferencesBead: 2.8 Slotted tungsten in Gold.Thread: 30D black Gel Spun.Tail: Brown dyed Duck wing Biots.Body: Small and Brassie sized copper wire.Abdomen: Peacock Black Ice Dub.Collar: Dun colored Hare’s Mask Copper John Tying Instructions Start by placing a tungsten bead on your favorite wide gap jig hook then secure it firmly in your vise.  Lay down a base of thread starting behind the bead and working it back to the beginning of the bend of the hook. I prefer using 30D gel spun because of its strength and its ability to lay flat on the hook shank.  Select two Biots from a brown dyed Duck Quill. Bind them onto the hook making their length about the same as the shank of the hook. Be sure the natural curve of the Biot turns the tips outward. Return your thread to behind the bead.  For this fly I used small and brassie sized wire. Bind the wire down on the opposite side of the hook to where you tied the tails and return your thread to behind the bead. Be sure to use good touching wraps of thread; this will help with tighter wire wraps.  Next, wind both wires simultaneously towards the bead. Another little trick for nice tight wraps is to use your thumbnail to push the wires back against your previous wraps. When you get behind the bead, tie off both wires and either clip or twist the remaining off.  To create the thorax, apply a small dubbing noodle of peacock black ice dub and wrap it tight to the back of the bead. You only need two to three turns of dubbing.  For the collar of this fly I used Dun colored Hares mask. It doesn’t take much to make a buggy collar; a small pinch is all that’s needed. I apply the Hares mask to the fly by utilizing the split thread method. The benefits of using gel spun is that you can easily split your thread with either a bodkin or thread splitting tool by simple spinning your bobbin counterclockwise until it flattens out. By doing this method you save space over using a traditional dubbing loop. Once you’ve applied your hares mask collar, apply glue and whip finish.  See Product See Product See Product See Product See Product See Product More About Nate Wight Nathan's favorite flies: Although he ties a lot of Euro nymph flies, Nathan’s real passion is for large predator streamers and top water flies. Find Nathan @: www.instagram.com/n.w.flyco/, www.facebook.com/n.w.flyco, www.northwoodsfly.com About Nathan: Growing up in the western mountains of Maine, Nathan was surrounded by some of the best native brook trout and landlocked salmon in New England. Taught by his father, he quickly developed a passion for fly fishing and is 4th generation ME guide. With 30+ years of tying experience, he opened North Woods Fly Co. in 2015. Although he loves to tie classic Maine streamer flies, there is no pattern that he won’t tie or replicate for his clients. Nathan has fished throughout New England, parts of the US west, northern Canada and the Canadian Maritime’s. He is part of a program that brings casting, fishing and fly tying to Veterans in Maine and also teaches group and one-on-one tying lessons. He regularly ties at the Fly Fishing Shows in Marlboro MA and Edison NJ, most often in the HMH booth. How to Fish the Copper John A Copper John is a versatile fly pattern that can be used in a variety of fishing situations. When fishing with a Copper John fly, it's important to consider the water conditions and the type of fish you're targeting. Here are some tips on how to fly fish effectively with a Copper John: Cast the Fly in the Right Location: To increase your chances of success, it's important to cast the Copper John fly in the right location. This may involve casting the fly upstream or downstream, depending on the water flow. You may also want to cast the fly near structure, such as rocks or logs, where fish are likely to be hiding. Vary the Depth of the Fly: Fish often feed at different depths depending on the time of day and the water temperature. To increase your chances of catching fish, it's a good idea to vary the depth of your Copper John fly. You can do this by adjusting the weight of the fly, using a sink tip or intermediate line, or using a strike indicator to help adjust the level of the fly under the water’s surface. Try Different Colors and Sizes: Copper John flies come in a variety of colors and sizes, so don't be afraid to experiment to see what works best for the fish you're targeting.

The flies that I tie are made out of necessity, the necessity to create art, and the necessity to create fishable flies. Sometimes both of those driving forces combine and align, The All Night Diner is a great example of this. Named after one of my favorite Modest Mouse songs, The All Night Diner is fun to tie and an effective dry fly. This parachute emerger pattern is a great example of how the tying art flies leads to new techniques for effective fishable patterns. I first tied this pattern late at night on a long project fly using a VKsteelworks hook.

This is a fly originally designed by Bob Clouser as is obvious by the name. This is how Bob himself describes the fly.

Euro nymphing, tight line nymphing or high-stick nymphing, no matter what you choose to call it, can be an extremely effective way to catch fish. The key is to get the fly to the bottom and into the feeding lane of the fish. I, like a lot of trout fishers, grew up fishing the classic nymph patterns like Pheasant Tails and Hare’s Ears. Although these patterns are exceptional at mimicking the naturals as closely as possible in shape and color, I soon discovered with euro style flies, shape and weight were more important. I believe it is better to have four patterns in various weights than 100 of the same flies in the same weight. I often fish flashier flies when in high pressured waters for nothing else than to show the fish something different. I say all this based on my experiences. Not everyone will be the same and there are always exceptions.

The Grey Fox is a classic Catskill pattern developed by Preston Jennings to imitate a wide range of mayflies that the avid angler is likely to encounter while out on the water.